


Deep Water Rescue

by lexyloo



Series: Baewatch [2]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Lifeguards, Break Up, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Marco is beautiful and must be protected at all costs, Sad boi hours at first but then happy times, Swimming
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-04
Updated: 2019-11-18
Packaged: 2021-01-23 04:02:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,016
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21313864
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lexyloo/pseuds/lexyloo
Summary: *** CURRENTLY ON HIATUS*** Marco Bodt is a head lifeguard at the local aquatics center and has loved swimming all his life. Hi-jinks will ensue, as well as drunk lifeguard parties, saving children who have no business swimming in the deep end, and maybe a summertime romance or two. But all that aside, who is this new Jean guy? And why does he seem so familiar?Marco's POV in the Baewatch series
Relationships: Marco Bott/Jean Kirstein
Series: Baewatch [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1524233
Comments: 1
Kudos: 7





	1. The Interview

“Tell me, why do you want to be a lifeguard?”

The boy in front of me stared back blankly, snapback still skewed on his head. A few moments passed before he spoke up.

“Uh, not gonna lie. I don’t even wanna be a lifeguard. My mom just said it’s time for me to get a job.”

I could feel my eye twitching. It’s not very often that I hate something, but I _hate_ interviewing teenagers--well, more specifically, ones that don’t care about anything.

I’m Marco, and I work at the aquatics center as a head lifeguard. I’ve worked here for a few summers in between school, and seen quite a few faces come and go. However, this particular summer, we saw a whole lot a faces going and not a lot coming in, so the board decided to announce the mass number of lifeguard opening in addition to free training. Of course, practically every jobless teenager within a 20 mile radius came to try and get in on the job.

It was to be expected that Levi would make me handle the interviews; even though I had promoted up to head guard, I still had the least seniority among all the managers within the aquatics center. As the “new guy,” I was burdened with all the jobs that none of the other managers wanted to bother with. The worst part? These interviews didn’t even matter! The executives just wanted us to to give off a “professional vibe” even though we were so desperate for workers that we would hire anything with a pulse.

“Okay, well… that’s an answer, I guess. Thank you for your time, Kyle. I’ll see you at training week,” I responded dryly. He shook my hand and left the room without another word.

I slumped over in my chair, pinching the bridge of my nose between my thumb and index finger. If I had to deal with _one more teenager_, I was going to lose all faith in humanity. In a desperate attempt to keep my sanity intact, I pulled my phone out of my pocket and began typing out a text.

To: Joshua  
Hey babe, remind me why I decided to go into lifeguarding again?

From: Joshua  
rough day?

To: Joshua  
A really rough day :(( I don’t understand how teenagers can be so edgy. It’s like none of them care about anything!

From: Joshua  
lol they probably dont care

To: Joshua  
Can’t wait to see you tonight though :)

Joshua and I chatted back and forth a bit to pass the time. We had been together for over a year, and I planned on asking him to move in with me that night. I already had everything set up; I was going to surprise him at his apartment, take him to dinner at the restaurant where we had our first date, and ever-so-romantically offer him a key to my place (accompanied with a sappy romantic monologue, of course). I couldn’t wait. 

Not gonna lie though, I was pretty nervous about it--he was always one to be a bit afraid of commitment. Heck, he turned me down the first time I asked him about moving in with me after six months. But I figured it had been a full year and then some; so if it didn’t happen now, I figured it never would.

My phone vibrated.

From: Joshua  
cant wait to see u too

“Uh, hey… Are you the guy I’m supposed to be interviewing with?”

I almost threw my phone on the ground, jolting upright as I realized there was a young man sitting in the chair across from me at my make-shift desk. I always used to complain about kids spending too much time on their phones, but I was caught in the act red-handed.

I could feel my cheeks burning up a bit, and I rubbed the back of my neck with my hand. Nervous habit of mine; I really needed to stop that. “Ah, jeez. Sorry about that. It’s been a bit crazy today. How long have you been sitting there?”

As I looked up at him, a small wave of relief hit me--he actually looked close to my age. _Thank god, no more teenagers_ I thought to myself. He had an undercut, with the longer, top portion of his hair dyed a lighter color than the bottom half. However, he also looked like a nervous wreck; there were droplets of sweat forming close to his temples, and his shoulders were rigidly tensed up. And if I saw right, his was slightly shaking. Poor guy.

“N-not that long,” he replied, voice noticeably quivering. _ Wow, this guy really IS a mess._

I tried to relax and push my embarrassment to the side; this guy looked like he needed more reassurance than I did. “Okay, well that’s good! Let’s get started then. My name is Marco Bodt and I’m one of the head guards here.” I tried to give him my most welcoming smile and reached my hand across the table; it was met with his, which was a bit sweaty as well.

“I’m Jean, nice to meet you.”

_Huh, what a nice name name._

“Jean…” _It’s surprisingly… smooth._ “Interesting name, I’ve never heard it said like that before.” Jean suddenly looked up at me as I said his name, eyes a bit softer than they were before. As if he had never heard somebody else say his name before. “Can I see your application and resume if you have one?”

His returned to their rigid appearance as he bluntly handed two crumpled papers over to me. _ Wow, this is literally the first applicant who has had a resume with their application. Wild. _ I began skimming through the various tidbits of information on his resume; he was an upcoming sophomore at Trost University (the school which I also attended, ironically), had worked previously at a warehouse, and had swimming experience with the Sheena swim club.

I came to a screeching halt at that last factoid. The Sheena swim club? I swam with that club my whole adolescent life, all the way up until I graduated from high school. How did I not recognize this guy?

“Oh, you swam for the Sheena swim club? When did you quit?” I probed, hoping to spark some kind of memory of the man in front of me.

“Around my junior year in high school, I think.”

_So we probably swam for Sheena at roughly the same time I did. _

“Any reason why?”

He faltered for a moment, his face going dark for a fraction of a second. “Uh… Money and time, I guess.”

“Interesting.”

I finished running through the rest of his application and resume with him, asking follow-up questions as needed. To be quite frank, Jean was overqualified for the position--all he needed to do was learn the techniques required for the actual saves and first aid practices. I was excited to have him on board.

But before I could give him the okay, I had to ask him one final question--the dastardly question that was supposed to “reveal character,” or something like that. The dreaded question that had gotten me some of the most despicable responses that day.

“Well Jean, it seems like you’re qualified for the position. But, I have one question for you before I can approve you for training next week.”

Now, I don’t want to sound like a complete jerk, but I only _wish_ you could have seen the look on Jean’s face when I said that. His eyes went wide and the color instantly drained from his face; the poor guy looked like he had just seen a ghost. I bit my tongue trying to hold back my laughter.

I continued on. “Tell me, why do you want to be a lifeguard?”

It is no exaggeration when I say that Jean _absolutely froze._ It was like he was staring into an endless void, trying to make sense of the meaning of life or something. The droplets of sweat on his forehead quickly turned into bullets.

And good God, the silence was _absolutely deafening._

Before I could bail the poor guy out, he finally croaked out an answer.

“I… uh… like… water.”

And that was it. That was the big finale of an answer that I got from Jean. I couldn’t help it; I started laughing like crazy. I could see Jean looking shamefully at the ground, but I just couldn’t stop myself.

I eventually settled down (after my belly started hurting from laughing so much) and looked back over to Jean, who was still avoiding eye contact at all costs.

“Oh, jeez, sorry for laughing. I’ll add you to the training list.”

“Oh, uh… Really?” Jean looked up bashfully, and I couldn’t help but laugh again; he looked like a puppy that had just gotten itself into trouble!

“Really.”

We finished off our meeting, and I gave him some paperwork and a schedule for the upcoming training week. However, Jean seemed pretty out of it after that last question, so I made sure to write my number on the corner of the schedule in case he forgot something. And thank goodness, he was my last interview of the day--which meant I got to leave early.

I packed my stuff and headed over to Joshua’s apartment, both excited (and scared shitless) for what the evening had in store for us.

To: Joshua  
On my way :)


	2. And Everything Sucked

I woke up on the floor with an awful headache. A ray of light made its way through the window and onto my face; I cursed the sun in that moment. _What time is it?_ I tried to reach around for my phone which I hoped was nearby—and of course, it wasn’t.

What happened last night?

“Good morning, sunshine,” a voice called from the kitchen. It was sweet, but had just a hint of sarcasm lining it. And it definitely wasn’t a voice that I was expecting to hear.

“Armin?”

“Yeah, it’s me,” he replied with a soft chuckle. “How are you feeling? And don’t worry, I already talked to Levi. You’ve got the day off.”

I attempted to stand up, only to be met with a terrible, twisting feeling in my stomach. Oh no no no you can’t throw up on the carpet. Desperate, I picked myself up off the ground and scurried over to the bathroom, silently thanking the stars that the toilet seat was already up when I got there. Threw up instantly.

Armin followed after me with a glass of water which he placed on the ground beside me as I slouched over the toilet. My head was pounding, and I could feel another wave of nausea already setting in.

“Do you need me to get you anything else right now?”

There were a lot of things I needed; my head to stop hurting, my stomach to calm down, and my memory from last night. Obviously I was hungover, but why was Armin here? I had so many questions, but only managed to get the word “phone” out before throwing up again. Armin shook his head.

“You can get your phone back when you stop throwing up. I’ll fill you in on everything that happened. But you should probably get cleaned up first.”

I decided to take Armin’s advice. Took a shower, brushed my teeth, changed into some clean clothes, and everything in between. I felt like a new (yet still incredibly hungover) man. But for the life of me, I couldn’t remember what happened last night. I had gotten off work and picked up Joshua for dinner—

Oh no. Dinner. Asking him to move in with me.

It had all gone horribly wrong.

***

_“You’re fucking out of your mind, Marco.” _

__

_“Wait, what?”_

__

__

__

_“I told you I didn’t want things to move too fast!” Joshua was standing at this point, his hands slamming onto the table. The restaurant went quiet._

_ __ _

__

_ __ _

_“Joshua, that’s fine, let’s just talk—”_

_ _ __ _ _

__

_ _ __ _ _

_“No, it’s not fine!”_

_ _ _ __ _ _ _

__

_ _ _ __ _ _ _

_I sat silently. He loomed over me, a pure rage radiating off of him. I had never felt so small before._

_ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _

__

_ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _

_“I’m sorry. I just figured that since it’s been over a year—”_

_ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _

__

_ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _

_“I don’t fucking care how long it’s been! I don’t want to be with someone who is trying to tie me down!”_

_ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _

__

_ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _

_I suddenly felt a sharp pain inside my chest. I stood up, tears starting to collect in the corners of my eyes._

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_“Joshua. I’m not trying to tie you down. But I want us to act like we have a future together,” I pleaded. He scoffed at that._

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_“Then I guess we just don’t have a future together at all,” he spat at me. I flinched._

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_With that, he stormed out of the restaurant, and I was left standing alone._

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

***

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

I leaned on the bathroom counter. My whole body felt numb, aside from the steady ache in my chest. My eyes were burning as I felt them start tearing up. I could feel my breath start catching.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Joshua had left me. Like I meant absolutely nothing to him.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

He never wanted a real future with me.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

A knock on the door. “Marco? Are you okay?” Armin opened the door and looked at me with soft, wide eyes. I looked weakly back over at him.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

I couldn’t form any words.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Armin quickly walked over to me, wrapping his arms around me. I melted into them, sobbing uncontrollably.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

***

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

After Armin finally calmed me down, we moved back over to the living room and spent most of the day watching netflix together. Although it was supposed to serve as a distraction, it only served as background noise as I wallowed in self pity. We both agreed that it was in my best interest for him to keep my phone so I didn’t try to do anything stupid--this was a good call since I desperately wanted to text Joshua. 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

I made myself into the most pitiful blanket burrito, and Armin made us both hot chocolate (look, I know it was summer time, but hot chocolate can fix almost anything so give me a break). I was beyond lucky to have Armin as a friend; we had both swam at Sheena together and stayed friends ever since. He was always there for me when I needed him, and had given me life-saving advice every time something came up. I was eternally grateful.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Sadly, his presence couldn’t mend my broken heart. But the company was nice.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

“Hey, Armin… How’d you end up here anyway?”

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

“Oh, well. Um… You texted me last night thinking I was Joshua. I called you to try and figure out what was going on and you sounded really, _really_ drunk. I came over to make sure you were safe,” Armin said a bit bashfully, cheeks turning a light pink. “I was just worried about you.”

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

“Dang, that bad huh?” I asked with a light laugh. Armin nodded.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

“Yeah, I can only imagine how rough everything was for you. But in the future,” he cast me a stern look, “please don’t drink like that by yourself again. Things could have gone a lot worse.”

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

I paused for a moment. Most of last night was still pretty hazy--which probably meant that I drank what could only be described as a “fuck-ton.” I had never really had a problem drinking before. I guess this was just a new pain, so I was looking for a new way to deal with it.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

“You’re completely right, and I’m really, really sorry.”

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

He threw me a small smile. “Apology accepted.”

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

***

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Armin ended up staying over for the next few days, and I was incredibly grateful. We watched Netflix for the most part, but Armin was obviously having trouble deciding what to watch. In a desperate attempt to cheer me up, he put on a bunch of different comedy skits. While most of them were a hard miss for me, John Mulaney actually made me smile a bit.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

However, despite Mulaney’s comedy, I couldn’t help but keep thinking back to what happened. Joshua was genuinely _pissed_ about me asking him to move in. I had thought that he had become more open to the idea of us moving in together, but obviously I was horribly mistaken. I silently hoped that maybe if I apologized and we talked things over a bit more that we could make things work again.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Finally, the day slowly turned to night and Armin started getting ready to head home. But before he left, he took my phone and began handing it over to me.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

“I guess it’s time to give you your phone back,” he stated as I reached for the device. He then suddenly moved it just out of reach. “But! You have to promise me that you won’t start texting or calling Joshua again tonight. Deal?”

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

I begrudgingly nodded my head. “Deal.”

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

With that, he tossed my phone back to me. “Let me know if you need anything, okay? I can come over whenever.”

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

I gave him a small wave as he left and slumped myself onto my couch. To be quite honest, I didn’t really want to be alone, but Armin had already spent a few days with me and I didn’t want to bother him more than I already had. I put on The Great British Baking Show to drown out my thoughts, but Paul Hollywood was only able to help so much.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

I loved Joshua dearly. And although he never really wanted to take our relationship any further, I held on to hope that one day that would change. I guess that was pretty naive of me--but I couldn’t help that I had fallen helplessly for him. I had clung to that hope for over a year, so it hurt that I had to let go of that. Not to mention the humiliation of being yelled at and abandoned in a restaurant.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

In summary, everything sucked. Like, completely, absolutely, without a doubt _sucked_. But little did I know things were about to turn around.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you are still reading, thanks. Hopefully something cool happens soon.


End file.
